


Helllraising Dreamer

by Almadynis



Category: Hellraiser & Related Fandoms, Hellraiser (Movies)
Genre: Dildos, F/M, Light BDSM, Light Bondage, Light Dom/sub
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2015-03-18
Packaged: 2018-03-18 12:55:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3570434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Almadynis/pseuds/Almadynis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A girl walks the halls of the Cenobites. Where does she come from? How does she appear and vanish at will? Why isn't she afraid? How will Pinhead react to such an odd, unpredictable girl?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Helllraising Dreamer

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my first complete fics...and my first posting to AO3. Only Kira is mine. I hope you enjoy!

She was 16 the first time she saw him. Or perhaps she should say that he saw her first. It was relatively harmless on the surface of it. It was when she started to look more closely that her heart began to race, whether in fear or anticipation she still couldn’t say.

It was a long corridor with cobwebs and dirt in all the right and expected places of an unkempt home. It was a lovely gray stone that let each panel and crossing corridor look exactly the same. Every six feet or so was a stone archway to supposedly hold up the ceiling, but she doubted that the stone would ever fall no matter what happened. Well, it might fall, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long. It had a sentient feel to it that could not be ignored. The old saying of “the walls have eyes and ears” took on a whole new meaning other than metaphoric when she looked at these corridors. 

She would be the first to tell you that she was a cynic and a realist. She took everything with a grain of salt. Doubted everything good that came along in her life, looking for the catch in commercials, could hear that politicians never really said anything no matter how long they talked, and she debated with herself over buying brand versus generic on a taste-effective-affordable scale. 

So when she peaked into one of the doors that occasionally went off the long stone corridor and saw a relatively beautiful woman trying to have sex with two men in connecting chains run along the ceiling so that if one moved forward, the other had to move backward to accommodate, she snorted derisively and let out a soft mocking laugh. She shook her head and moved on down the corridor, having no desire to open the door and interrupt the trio’s “fun”. “Adulterer.”

The next room she peaked into, for while she was a cynic she was also incredibly curious, there was a man that seemed to be having a conversation with himself via a mirror, but while she could hear another voice speaking that sounded exactly like the man she could see, she could not see a reflection in the mirror. The man seemed to get rather desperate after only a couple of minutes, desperate to see himself apparently. She gave a small ‘hmm’ sound before “Narcissist.”

The third seemingly innocent door held something that actually made her raise her eyebrows. A teenage girl, looking to be about her own age of 16, was hanging on a wall by rusty, or bloodstained, chains. Chains with hooks on the ends dangled threateningly from the ceiling all around the room. All of them were rusted or bloodstained, she really couldn’t tell. Well, she had always been accused of being too curious. Might as well live up to the accusation.

Carefully, she pulled open the door as softly as possible. The other teenager’s eyes immediately went to her, the eyes wide with pain and fear, and she was sure the other girl was trying to communicate the need to run. She ignored it. Judging by what she had seen so far, she wasn’t sure that the chained girl didn’t want to be right where she was...or deserve to be on that wall. She made sure not to touch anything as she stepped closer, she didn’t want to disturb…yet. She just wanted to see if it was rust or bloodstains. That would tell her a lot. 

So, she stepped closer, blatantly ignoring the girl’s eyes as they followed her with their pleading gaze, and peered at one of the chains with hooks that was closest to her. She never used her bike, it just stayed in the garage, so she knew what rust looked like. Her father was a diabetic; she knew how blood looked coming out and after it had dried. She leaned near the chain and sniffed. Blood. The color was too dark for rust, and she could smell a slight copper hint under the metallic scent of the chain itself.

“Intoxicating, isn’t it?” The voice was decidedly male. It was very deep and made her immediately think of royalty. 

She turned around, not too fast and not too slow. Actively trying to communicate the lack of fear and surprise was harder than she thought, but she might have pulled it off. Maybe. 

The man that had spoken was…interesting. At first glance he was a guy who didn’t go outside, ever, that liked to wear a lot of black leather. But a split second and eye blink later let her mind register the peculiarities of his dress and skin. His complexion was bordering on blue in reality, not just pale but a very subtle white-blue. He had a incised pattern of a grid over his entire head. If she didn’t know any better, it almost looked like he was born with that pattern. But it was too perfect and exact to be a genetic quirk. Someone had also decided that the grid wasn’t enough and had added a spike or nail into every intersection of that grid. They weren’t deep enough to be embedded into the bone, she could see them move. Oddly, the nails didn’t detract from the man’s grace, poise, or…royalty, she couldn’t think of a better word. He had a way about how he held himself that spoke of a surety of self and lordship. 

And his clothes didn’t detract from his composure at all, it added to it even. It was definitely black leather, but there were seven holes cut in his outfit that was part trench coat, part dress. Six holes were at his areolas, three on each side in a stacked pattern of rectangles and the third at his bellybutton in a long oval. She could see none of them. At each of the matching six holes in the leather, a square of skin had been cut on three sides, a hook placed in the flesh and left to dangle by the remaining side still attached to his chest. She thought she could see his bellybutton, maybe. It was partially hidden by a seventh hook that had been buried sharp-end first into the navel and then out the other side and apparently this hook was heavier than the others because his flesh was visibly stretched down by gravity.

All this she observed in roughly twenty seconds or so. Her eyes had snaked down his form and back up again, meeting his eyes without fear. His eyes didn’t have whites, it looked like his pupils had taken over his entire eye. 

He spoke again, no expression in his voice or in his face. “Like what you see?” With so little expression, the question could refer to her observation of him, or the room, or even the still-hanging girl on the wall, or even the stone corridor maze. So many possibilities.

She spoke with confidence and a small quirk to her lips, revealing a very small dimple in her cheek. Her voice was remarkably gentle, despite the topic of conversation. “It’s a very interesting place. Every room is seemingly unique centering on a single individual and what they fear or want.” She turned to look at the still pleading gaze of the girl that was starting to fill with a new fear of her. “I admit that she doesn’t quite fit here. She’s too afraid. The others were almost…resigned…to their rooms.” She looked back at him, he had moved closer in her observation of the girl until he was almost within touching distance. “You are also interesting. Your appearance is unusual to say the least; you have wounds that seem to be so common that you don’t notice, but are fresh enough to still be pink, however don’t appear to be even in the beginning stages of healing, with no swelling.” She looked up into his eyes. “And you have some very interesting…tools…on your belt.” Her head quirked to the side. “I’d ask if this was Hell, but I doubt it. Or perhaps I should say that this is not the Christian idea of Hell. Or any other Hell I can think of.” Her eyes flicked to the room, to the hanging girl, and back to him who had stepped even closer still. There was now less than six feet between them, well within reach. She didn’t move away. “Nor do you conform to any demons that I’ve read about. Yes, this place is very interesting.”

He gazed at her with those pure black eyes, no expression in his face, and nodded slightly. He couldn’t nod with any depth due to the leather collar of his trench-dress, it came up and wrapped around all the way up to the base of his skull. She was watching though, and caught the small movement. “You are not afraid.”

She smiled softly at him. “Why would I be afraid? Honestly, the biggest comment in my mind is that you need to hire a better caretaker. So much blood isn’t good for the metal.”

That did get a reaction. He quirked an eyebrow and she would have sworn she saw a minute quirk of his lips. “Indeed.” For a moment, there was silence in the room. Not even the hanging girl spoke or moved. The next was a question, but it was spoke with a very small hesitation that he hadn’t shown so far. For a man with his bearing, it could only be that there was something about the question he wasn’t used to. “Who are you?”

Such a seemingly ambiguous question that was as general as his last. This time was different though. This question was not as easy to answer. Or as pleasant.

Her smile faded and an air of defeat came about her. Easy for him to spot and identify. Since it had not been his intention, he made a mental note of the response. “Kira. My name is Kira.” She swallowed visibly and seemed to shake herself before her eyes focused back onto his face. “And you?”

“I am the Angel of Suffering.”

“Bit of a mouthful.” A very small smirk.

“I am called Pinhead as of late.”

Quirk of an eyebrow. “No decent mother would name you that.”

“I have no parents.”

“Hmmm…well calling you Pinhead is silly. And a Nailhead is something entirely different. How about…” she cast her mind out for a name that would suit the man in front of her. “…Gideon.” 

He just looked at her for a few second before, “Very well.” He reached out a hand to her as if to touch her shoulder. She watched his pale white-blue hand come toward her, but she didn’t move away. She let him come. 

His fingers curled in invitation or in anticipation of cupping her shoulder. His hand came over and brushed her skin that was uncovered by her simple tank top. In a split second, her eyes widened in alarm, and with a small puff of displaced air, she vanished. As if she had never been.

But he could still smell her scent. 

Vanilla and despair.

Intoxicating.

[break]  
Kira bolted upright in her bed, breathing hard as her left hand wrapped around her freezing right shoulder. Her blue eyes were wide as she suddenly decided to fling back the covers, and madly dashed to the adjoining bathroom. She turned on the light, and peered closely at her burning right shoulder. “It’s not possible…it was a dream…”

There, as plain as the daylight that was beginning to stream through the window slat blinds, were two small circles, white against her pink skin. He had very briefly touched her skin in her dream…and it had burned her in reality. She shivered, suddenly afraid. If dreams could hurt you…she didn’t normally have nice dreams with kittens, rainbows, and boys. The one last night, while decidedly in the top five of weird, wasn’t that unusual. The man…Gideon…was the most interesting aspect of it, he was new. 

She had never seen him before. Like most dreams, hers were about things she had done, wanted to do, or wanted to forget. Most of the characters she came up with reminded her of people she knew, at least once awake. But Gideon…he was different. She couldn’t think of anyone like him. And that place…she had seen Labyrinth as a child countless times, but this was like the Labyrinth’s older, scarier cousin. It wasn’t scary precisely, more mysterious, but it was scarier than Jareth’s by far. 

Her eyes strayed to the wooden box with gold inlay that, while she couldn’t see it at that moment, she knew it lay under her bed. It was the only new thing in her life. So, if dreams were suddenly affecting reality, she could only think of that box as to the cause.

One week ago…  
Kira always took the same route to school. It was normal, routine. So when something changed, she took notice. An oriental man was sitting at a small round table. She didn’t see him originally, but his question was so unexpected that it made her pause. 

“What’s your pleasure?”

A wooden box with gold filigree was by the man’s side resting on the table and her eyes immediately went to it. It was beautiful. Simplistic for an ornament, but the artistry in the inlay was magnificent. She smiled in pleasure and stepped closer to the box, and in consequence the man. “How much for the box?”

The man just looked at her and she sighed. If you had to ask either it wasn’t for sale or the price was so high she had no hope to be able to pay. “Sorry to waste your time.” And she walked away, going to school and forgetting about the man and the box.

On her way home, she noted that both the man and the box were no longer there.

Three days ago…

“What’s your pleasure?” The oriental man was back. She gave him a “good morning” smile, but didn’t stop this time, though her eyes didn’t leave the box by his side until she was past the table. “Wait.”

Kira paused, turned to look at him with a quizzical expression. He held out the box to her on the palm of his hand. She held his eyes, making sure it was alright, as she reached out to take it. As soon as her fingers brushed the surface, she cried out in pain and jerked back, cradling her hand to her chest. She looked down and could see white marks where her skin had come into contact. Her fingers had been burned by the coldness of the wooden box. 

She looked up at the oriental man, who was gazing back at her in something like amazement. He slowly retracted the box, that she noted was not burning him in the slightest, and set it back on the table. He kept looking at her for a few moments, then, keeping his eyes on her, reached under the table into a small bag at his feet. She watched as his hand reached in and slowly pulled out…another box. Kira blinked at him in confusion when he held out this new box to her. 

It was identical to the first. But as Kira looked more closely, she saw that this box was contained in what looked to be a glass box, neatly containing the first. She could still see the beautiful gold filigree inlay, but reaching out this time with her off hand just in case she was burned again, this one didn’t reach her skin. So it couldn’t burn her. She grinned in amazement as she studied the box, examining all six sides, all of which were different, with an artistic pleasure. 

She was so engrossed with the box that she never noticed the oriental man walk away, taking the original box with him.

Two days ago…

“What have you got there, sis?” Her brother Thomas walked into the living room to find his kid sister on the couch studying a box and trying to sketch it. In his typical guy fashion, he reached out and took it, snatching it from her. 

She knew better, knew it wouldn’t help. So she didn’t protest; only giving a long sigh. She knew what he would do. It had happened before.

Yesterday…

Cassie, Thomas’ girlfriend came up to Kira in the lunchroom. The blond cheerleader to her jock brother held out the glass-encased box. Kira looked at the older girl in trepidation as she slowly reached out and took back her box. Cassie didn’t say anything, how could a cheerleader deign to speak to one of Kira’s ilk, and was walking away when Kira’s question came to her.

“Why do you stay with him?”

Cassie didn’t turn around, but her head did as she answered. “Habit.”

Kira’s estimation of the girl changed. At least the blond knew how much of a jerk Thomas was, and not blind to his machinations.

That night, Kira made sure to hide the glass-encased box where not even her mother would find it. Underneath the head of her bed wrapped in a clean comforter. 

Present…

Kira watched in the mirror as the white circles slowly disappeared as her body heat worked to reverse the intense cold. She looked to where the box was still hidden, wondering at the odd coincidence of the burning cold she associated with that beautiful box.

She glanced at the clock, sighed, and got dressed. It was past time to start breakfast.

[break]

That night, the brunette girl held the glass-encased box in her hands, debating with herself on what to do. On one hand, she kind of wanted to see Gideon again, he was interesting. On the other hand, she didn’t want to get burned again. If the box really was the reason she was dreaming so oddly, as well as the source of her cold-burn…then should she put it away, back to its hiding place? Or to a new spot that wasn’t so near her bed?

As her father said, “Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern.” Well, it hadn’t happened been burned three times yet, and had only dreamed of Gideon once. 

With a small amount of trepidation, Kira carefully placed the beautiful gold inlay box back into the comforter, and gently pushed it under the head of her bed. She clicked off the light and crawled into bed. She didn’t fall asleep for over an hour, her mind in a whirl of thoughts.

It was about midnight when, all of a sudden, between one moment and the next, she was in the grey stone labyrinth again. The corridor was different. She didn’t know how she could tell, but she somehow knew that this stone hallway was a different stone hallway than the one she had seen before. 

She looked down at herself and noted that she was wearing her pajamas. “It’s a dream.” With that thought in mind, she closed her eyes and pictured in her mind her favorite outfit: blue jeans, sneakers, and a purple t-shirt with a lily on the front. Opening her eyes she saw…her pajamas. She frowned in consternation at the stubborn clothes, before dismissing the idea for now. She would think about it more later, when she had time. For now, she wanted to find Gideon.

Peeking into the side rooms that lay every ten feet or so, she saw what she thought was a glutton, who was sitting at a dinner table chained in such a way that he couldn’t reach the food, another narcissist that was screaming at the reflection of a hideously scarred version of her “real” face, and one man whose sins she couldn’t readily identify.

This particular man was very ordinary looking, forgettable with plain brunette hair cut simply in plain clothes. He was sitting in the middle of an unadorned room, and she could see that he was handcuffed to the plain wooden chair at both wrists and ankles. He was facing away from her with the entire back wall, the one she could see almost completely, was as if it had a projection screen on it. It was the images displayed that was so confusing. Pictures of children laughing gaily, puppies barking happily, kittens cuddled sleeping with their mothers. All of the slides were innocent and very happy. Not what she would expect in this place.

“Do you like it?” She smiled at his voice, pleased that he had found her when apparently she could not navigate the labyrinth well enough to find him herself. His voice had not changed at all, still deep and resonating with authority.

Kira looked over at him, standing to her right in the exact same outfit that he had on the night before. He hadn’t changed at all. Turning back to the man cuffed to the chair, she answered her mysterious dream-man. “Confused actually. It’s very…different from all the other rooms. Is he afraid of this?”

Gideon, the Angel of Suffering, stepped close to her side, but with great care to not touch her at any point. He looked into the room in question. “Ah. Harold Frederick, whatever he thinks of, the opposite image appears on the screen.”

She was still confused. “If what appears is small animals, children, and young women all happy…then he’s thinking about hurting them? Is that it?” Kira peaked at the pale black-clad man with a small turn of her head, tilting at the same time to convey her continued bewilderment. He nodded, that very short and easy-to-miss nod you had to be looking for. He hadn’t taken his eyes off of her since he had confirmed the room’s occupant. “Why?” 

Such an innocent question, and it gave him another insight into her character. She may be the most unique human he had met, but there were aspects of her that was so…simple. He answered her anyway. “He was a serial killer.” Gideon watched as her face closed off slightly into a more scholarly interest. It was not as open. He didn’t like it. “He came here to perfect his craft.” Pure black eyes briefly flicked to the brunette male that was completely oblivious as to the onlookers. “He was unworthy of our instruction.”

Kira turned away from the room, facing him completely with those blue eyes of hers. He didn’t quite know why he liked looking at them, and at her, so much. Usually his pleasure did not come from simply looking at anything, let alone an unblooded, innocent, mortal girl-child. He watched as she took a deep breath, opened her mouth as if to say something before releasing the breath in a whoosh, closing her lips with a snap. They were nice lips. He wondered how they would look lightly coated in blood. His own blood perhaps.

“I want to try something.” 

He blinked at her. “Want”. It was a word he was intimately aware of, knew deeply. Everyone in the Labyrinth wanted something. Whether they received it was part of his duty as the Favored Son and Keeper. An eternity he had been thus, and an eternity of experience let him watch her impassively, letting her tell him her desire. 

That was another unique thing about the young mortal girl-child before him. He could not read her mind, her past, desires, memories, wishes, and prayers were not to be found. He had to use an eternity of training and observation to read her. Body language was his, nuances in her posture, facial expressions. The words she chose as she spoke, how she phrased things…all told a tale of Kira. It was not as efficient as telepathy, but the challenge presented he could not ignore. Perhaps his Father had decided to test his skills, though he doubted it. Father had not woken for a long time. 

Her voice brought his attention to the present, and her, rather than his consternation at this new riddle. “I want you to touch me.” He blinked again, longer this time. A sentence he had heard many times, but never in reference to him and never from such an innocent girl. How…odd. “Last time, when you touched my arm, it burned.” His attention focused sharply. He did not like to cause pain by accident. Pain was a reward to be carefully and deliberately handed out. “I touched a box last week that burned like that.” He knew she had to have a box to be in the Labyrinth, but why could she appear and vanish seemingly at will? No normal box could do that. There was only one, and that Configuration was not in Lamentation. It was very special. The chances that she had it were minute…but possible he had to admit. 

“I want you to do it again, touch me I mean. My left arm, I think…I’m right handed.” Her eyes were far away as her mind examined the problem and came to a solution. The way she thought was fascinating to him. There were not many people who were not afraid here, even fewer that were sane enough to think logically. She gave him a self-deprecating smile as she continued. “I don’t have much of a pain tolerance.” Really? How…delightful. The things he could show her, teach her. “So if I get burned again, I’ll have to come up with a solution before I come back here. Covering all my exposed skin would just be irritating, not to mention hot after a while.” 

She looked up at him, her blue eyes piercing his with desire, want. She wanted something from him, and wanted it desperately. He suspected that her desire was strong enough to activate the box she had in her possession, even if she had not solved the puzzle. Intense yearning could open the portal to his world. It had happened before; it was not common but not uncommon either. It still did not explain how she could travel to and from his realm. Such intensity in her eyes. Such passion. What other passions could he coax out of her? 

He might have the duty of running the Labyrinth, but that did not mean he did not like his work. Intensely. He had become the Favored Son by talent, not bloodline.

“So, will you?” His black eyes jumped to the hand she held out to him, palm up. Throughout her small speech, his facial expression had not changed, but she thought she had seen something in his eyes. She wasn’t quite sure what it was, had never seen such a look before. Kira kept her hand out to him, so close that he wouldn’t have to move very far at all to be able to touch her palm. But no farther. She did not want to force him into anything. That happened to her often enough to know the value of free will.

Kira didn’t move as she watched him raise a hand, reaching toward her. Not even when she could see that he wasn’t going to touch her hand and was aiming for something else. She didn’t move, though her forehead did crease slightly in confusion as she watched that hand come toward her. Her eyes popped open in shock as that white-blue hand, pure black eyes catching every nuance of expression, inhaling sharply. The split second it took her brain to understand the gesture seemed to take forever before she hastily backed up several steps, holding the wall for support.

He had grabbed her boob!

The moments it took for her to speak again let him gauge her. Innocent, as expected. Delightful. Though it was interesting to note that she had not disappeared as before. Apparently shock had not triggered it last time as he had expected. Perhaps the burn she had mentioned was the culprit. He would have to be careful about that. He did not want her to leave.

“What the hell did you do that for?!” Her voice had risen sharply. His lips quirked minutely in amusement. 

“You asked me to touch you.”

“On my hand! I had it held out and everything!”

“I did not want to touch your hand.”

That brought her up short, staring at him in open-mouthed shock. She just could not imagine why he would want to touch her breast. She only touched them to wash, why would he want to touch them? She took a breath, calming herself in a well-practiced manner. Blue eyes met black, “The point was to touch my skin. To see if it would burn. Remember?”

It was practically impossible to insult him. “My memory is perfect.” 

“If you didn’t want to, you could have just said so. You didn’t have to do…that.”

Another small quirk of his lips. She had so much to learn. “I wanted to.”

Kira again seemed to momentarily run out of words. She took another calming breath. “Will you please touch my hand.” She asked evenly and politely.

“No.” Even as her eyes were shutting down and he could smell the despair in her scent rise to blindingly intoxicating levels, he reached up and in one quick lightening move cupped her cheek.

Just as before, her eyes widened, she inhaled sharply in pain, and she disappeared with a puff of displaced air. 

He stood staring at where she had vanished for many minutes, until her scent had completely dispersed and he could no longer smell even a hint of the innocent mortal girl-child’s intoxicating scent. So much despair…so much desire…untouched innocence. 

Delightful!

[break]

Kira bolted upright in bed, covers thrown to the side in one move as she practically ran to the bathroom. A white handprint lay on her cheek, cupping her face. She shivered from the intense cold, and the memory of him cupping her breast. 

It was still dark outside, barely, as she dug out the box under her bed and shoved it into an old suitcase with her childhood nickname emblazed in stickers on the surface, wrapped in old outgrown favorite childhood clothes, and crept through the house to the garage. She didn’t want anyone to see her, or her to disturb them. It didn’t take long, she was used to such late-night wanderings. 

The glass-encased beautiful gold inlay wooden box was hidden carefully in a dark corner, high above eye level flush with the far back wall behind bags of receipts kept for tax purposes, fishing poles, and tackle boxes.

Her last thoughts that night was a simple, “My pleasure can’t be found in a box.”

 

[break]

Tax season was over, and it was time for the annual journey to the garage to throw away a bag of receipts. While she was at it, the matriarch of the family noticed something that should not be in the garage: a small red suitcase emblazed with sparkling stickers declaring itself the possession of “Iry”. Why was that here? With a small shake of her head, she grabbed the case and, after depositing the bag of taxes in the garbage bin, she went into her youngest daughter’s room and stashed the red case in the closet, on the highest shelf into the back. If Kira wanted to store it, her own closet was best. 

[break]

Kira was missing the Labyrinth. She hadn’t dreamed of it, or consequently Gideon, in several months. She gave a big sigh. The more time she spent in school and at home, she missed the simple acceptance that came with the maze of grey stone. 

Unlike at school, where she was a social wallflower that effortlessly got straight A’s while refusing to do anyone’s homework for them, and at home, where she was treated as a human house elf, Gideon didn’t judge or ignore her. He answered her questions without ridiculing her for her ignorance. Yes, he had a tendency to take things too far. But all she would really have to do to fix that is not ask him to touch her again. Since his skin touching hers was the burning trigger to wake her up, and stung for at least five minutes after she got up while her body heat warmed up wherever he touched her, then it was a bad idea to ask him to touch her anyway. No more touching.

Though if she was honest with herself, after the shock wore off, the boob-groping hadn’t been unpleasant. It was the fact he had done it without asking that bugged her. She was positive she had specified her hand, and had it held out to him and everything! She gave another deep sigh.

Her mother heard the two sighs and looked over at her youngest daughter. “Boy troubles?” 

Kira blinked up at her mother over the sink of dirty dishes, shocked that the woman was in any way interested in her life. Usually her comments were about how to accurately clean something or that something had broken again that Kira needed to fix. Or yelling at her that she had done the wrong thing yet again, which was the most common. “Yeah, I guess.” She turned back to the dishes.

“What happened?”

Kira sighed again. “He…did something that in a way I did ask for, but it wasn’t what I meant and he knew that. I mean, why would he do that?”

“Hmmm…well, sweetie, you have to remember that he is a boy.” She could see her daughter didn’t understand. “All boys think about is getting into your panties. You have to make sure that you are clear and very precise in how you talk with them. If you give them any leeway, they are going to exploit it.” She paused for a few minutes so that Kira could soak in the advice. “Do you like this boy?”

Kira once again sighed and slowly nodded. “He doesn’t look through me like all the others. He doesn’t make fun of me or call me names or ignore me completely.”

Her mother shook her head. “Those are good things, but what about his personality? Have you observed him from a distance, seen how he interacts and treats others? That can tell you a lot about anyone, especially boys. Watch out for red flags, sweetie. Hanging out with the wrong crowd, smoking, drinking, all of these things will lead to heartbreak. You need to be careful if you start dating.” She got up, walking over to kiss her daughter on the forehead. “Remember that I love you and you can ask me anything.”

“Okay.”

“As long as having a boyfriend doesn’t interfere with your schooling or chores, I don’t have an objection.”

Kira shook her head at her mother. While it was nice to have the advice of someone who had married and divorced four men, and so was intimately aware of all the different red flags that existed, it was still very much her. Loving comments ending with a command of more work. Kira gave a small sigh and wished once more that she could go back to the Labyrinth and talk with Gideon. 

[break]

She whirled around and stared at the grey stone corridor she once more found herself in. It had been several months since she had last visited, she had turned seventeen even, and found that while she missed the halls, a feeling of trepidation had settled around her in anticipation of her confrontation with Gideon.

Kira picked a random direction and began to walk. If she had to chance a guess, she would think that wherever she was, it was higher than the last two corridors. This grey hall had a different feel to it…more alive, and more dangerous. The light was slightly brighter, the cobwebs more infrequent. And even though it definitely looked cleaner, she felt a shiver run down her spine. Something here wanted her…to harm her… It was the same feeling that she had when the local gang was on the prowl, but much more intense. She knew that running was a very bad idea, but she had the very strong desire to do so. 

Swallowing her fear of impending doom, she continued walking at an even pace that was neither running nor walking, but somewhere in between. She didn’t see any of the normal side rooms, but kept going, hoping that Gideon would find her soon…or she find him.

A low growl began and Kira froze, swallowing harshly. Please, not a dog...not a dog… She turned and saw one of her own worst nightmares…a dog. Or a dog-like thing. Close enough. 

He looked like he had been on steroids; the muscles were bulging in all the normal-ish places. Someone had removed his lips so that she could see all of the very sharp teeth. All of his fur was gone like it had never been. And there were hooks into his nose, pulling straight back behind his ears, so blocking his eyes. He also had a black leather with spikes full-body collar on, circling his shoulders as well as around his middle, connected down the belly. 

And his snout was pointed directly at her. 

Kira took a step backwards and the dog growled again. She took another slow step, the dog moved closer. She turned and burst into a dead run, hoping that she could get to a room and shut the door before she got eaten. “GIDEON!” It was all she could think to do.

She could hear the dog get closer, gaining on her. Felt hot breath right on her heels. She tried to run faster.

“GIDEON!!!”

Suddenly, arms were around her. She could feel leather beneath her hands and looked up into a very welcome white-blue face. He wasn’t looking at her, but at the dog. He didn’t say anything either, he just looked at dog with a very stern-blank expression. The dog stopped, paused and tilted his head as if in confusion. Gideon didn’t do anything. The dog bowed his head, and backed up step by step before turning and going back down the corridor.

Kira watched the dog leave…and began to shake. She felt Gideon’s eyes switch from looking down the hall to her. His hand shifted positions from around her back, to one at her back and he bent to put his other arm under her knees. In one swift move, she was up into his arms, her arms naturally going around his neck, her head on his chest as she tried to gain control over herself.

She had her eyes closed so while she felt an intense cold for a split second, by the time she opened her eyes whatever had occurred was already over. But she could tell that they were in a different corridor. Curiosity began to replace her fear and shock. The easy pace that Gideon kept as he carried her down the grey stone hallway to a nearby door was soothing. She closed her eyes again, and simply breathed, beginning to calm.

She heard a door open. She blinked and saw an unusually empty room. The floor had a plush blood red carpet and there was a four poster king size bed to the left wall, covered with what looked like red silk sheets and lots of plush pillows in red silk pillowcases. Next to the bed were two wardrobes, both red-stained wood. Along the right wall, facing the rest of the room, was a red-stained wooden desk. It didn’t have anything on it though. On the opposite side of the bed from the wardrobes was another door, the first time she had seen a door off of a room. Lots and lots of red everywhere.

Gideon didn’t speak, but he crossed to the bed and gently lay her down before he stepped back and went through the door. After only a second, Kira could hear water running. She took a few breaths, then sat up, her feet going over the side of the bed. While the bed was remarkably comfortable, she didn’t want to be alone.

She got to her feet and followed where Gideon disappeared. Peeking in, hanging onto the doorjamb, she found a beautiful white and red bathroom fit for a queen. It was in a white and red checkerboard tile pattern on the floor, the walls in white tile lines in red. The bathtub, which was currently filling with steamy water, was a white ceramic in an old-world style complete with white clawed feet. A sink and commode in pristine white ceramic with matching clawed feet were against the closest wall, the tub at a perpendicular to them, next to the back wall. A red-stained shelf held white and blood red fluffy towels, washrags, as well as bottles of what she assumed was shampoo, conditioner, and perhaps bubble bath.

Kneeling at the bathtub’s edge was Gideon. It was decidedly odd, seeing him on one knee. He was so dignified that the image of him was either disturbing or funny, she couldn’t decide which. She took a breath before she spoke. “Thank you.”

This made him turn, and those black eyes pierced her own, seemingly looking into her own soul. He looked back at the water, judging the water level. His voice, the first time he had spoken so far, was deep and his tone was odd. It was harsher, colder. “You were afraid.” It was an accusation, as if it was the worst thing he could think of, an insult.

Kira nodded. “Dogs hate me. They always have. I…” tears sprang into her eyes and she wrapped her arms around herself. “…please don’t think bad of me, my brain tends to shut down when I see dogs. They always attack me. All I could think about was getting to you.” Her eyes had drifted down to the white and red floor, ashamed of her actions. Gideon was right, being scared of dogs was pathetic. 

A glove-covered hand came into her vision, lifting her chin so that she would look into his eyes. Surprisingly they were warmer, more like she was used to from him. The hand came up farther and one finger gently brushed her cheek. As it withdrew, she could see that it was wet, presumably with her own tears. Gideon didn’t take his eyes off of her as that finger went into his mouth. He seemed to savor the flavor, though she didn’t know why. All tears were salty.

He seemed to come to a decision then, as he watched her with those intense black eyes of his. “You trust me.” She could hear something in his voice. Like that simple statement was so…odd to him. As if the very idea of someone trusting him had never happened before.

Kira could hear it, and realized that this moment was significant. Her response would change everything. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him as she thought about what he had said. Did she trust him? She knew barely anything about him. She had only met him twice before. But he had done something that no one ever had done…he made her happy. He accepted her, didn’t judge her. And when it had really mattered…he had saved her. 

“Yes.”

She would have sworn that Gideon smiled. She also thought that she might be the only person in the whole world who would be able to tell.

 

[break]

That day was a turning point with their relationship. Kira didn’t ask him to touch her anymore, but she noticed that he had taken to wearing black leather gloves any time that she saw him. 

She came to the Labyrinth about once a week, every time that she wanted to actually. It was odd, but she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth…at least not on something which she liked so much. 

The very next time that she came to the Labyrinth, she asked Gideon about the dog-creature but was told that she would not see any other Cenobite unless she wanted to see it. She doubted that would ever happen, but wasn’t going to argue with him. 

Of course, this led to Kira asking what exactly was a Cenobite, which actually got Gideon to talk for more than a few words as he explained. Kira had taken to calling it the Religion of Sensation in her mind. It was easier to remember.

It was really nice for her. The world got a little duller every time that she visited the Labyrinth. School became boring, the place that she had always used to escape from home. Now, all she could really think of was getting back to Gideon. Homework and housework were things to do to make sleeping longer. She went to bed earlier and earlier, but slept to the same time. Kira had purchased a very special alarm that was extremely loud. Her family complained, but Kira could hear it even in the Labyrinth, getting her back to the “real world”. She was starting to resent the “real world” too. It kept her from her Gideon.

Kira smiled to herself as she gathered up her brother’s dirty laundry, passing him without answering to his challenge. If she had paid enough attention to hear it, she would have been angry. But as it was, all Kira could think about was the anticipation of sleep…and her very own Angel.

[break]

Her family was actually starting to worry about the girl. Her mother would have thought that her youngest daughter was depressed, except that Kira was happier than ever. But the brunette girl was happiest right after waking…and anxious to sleep at night. It got so bad that her mother went through her room one day while Kira was at school, looking for drugs or alcohol or anything that would explain the sudden change of behavior, but she found nothing. Not even a stash of sugar.

What she did find was disturbing. Sketches of a horribly tortured pale man in black leather, pins sticking out of his head in a grid pattern. Drawings of sickening pictures, along with notes about what the person had done to “deserve” the terrifying Hell on paper.

So her family did the only other thing that they could think of…they took her to a psychologist. 

[break]

Kira sat in the office of one Dr. Feller, Ph. D, arms crossed in defiance. “I don’t need therapy!”

“Come now, Kira. Your family cares about you and are concerned. Your mother is very worried.” She snorted in derision. “So why don’t you tell me about what you keep dreaming about. Or these pictures you draw and what they mean to you.”

“Sure, my family is worried. They are worried that I won’t be able to wash the dishes, do the laundry, clean the house, or manage the yard work. They don’t give a damn about me.” Kira hissed at the psychologist, glaring at him disdainfully. “As for my dreams, apparently the only guy I can come up with that understands me and accept me for who I am is the ruler of all Hell.”

The man looked at her and slowly blinked, before dutifully making a note on his blue clipboard. “I’m hearing that you think your family is unappreciative of all you do for them.”

Kira scowled at him. “I dare you to put a hidden camera in that house and say that again.” 

Feller cleared his throat. “Well, let’s talk about this boyfriend of yours. You say he rules Hell?”

“Yup. Gideon is wonderful.” Kira’s face lit up and she smiled for the first time since Dr. Feller had seen her, he made another written remark for later analysis. “He’s so…scary.” She frowned, dissatisfied with her statement. “But I am comfortable with him. He makes me feel safe, because he’s scarier than anything else. He even saved me from this dog that I swear was rabid. But then, dogs don’t like me.

“Gideon also let me help come up with the room for this one guy last month. He was a serial killer that specialized in little girls ages 3 to 5.” Dr. Feller got progressively paler as this seventeen year old, relatively ordinary looking girl went on to describe in detail how she had made a man three times her own age scream like the little girls he had tortured. She was obviously quite proud of it too.

Dr. Feller gave her mother the card of a specialist. Then he went home and got well and truly drunk.

[break]

This time, Kira found herself in the presence of a psychiatrist. This one was an occult specialist, Dr. Phillip Channard, M.D. Fortunately, as a minor she was still under the purview of her mother and since her mom didn’t want to get rid of her house elf, Kira was treated on an out-patient basis.

“So this box burned you and you stashed it in your garage?” He seemed genuinely interested. He was the first doctor not to run hiding from her stories. It made her wary of him, and excitement at the thought of perhaps another kindred spirit. He didn’t make her feel safe like Gideon, but he might be interested in being her friend.

“Yup. Behind the tax receipts and fishing equipment that we never use. But I still dream of it. Almost every other day now. I love it there. There was this one time last week when I got to help Gideon set up the room of this woman who was a prostitute. Turns out she really enjoyed her job, so I set it up so that she thinks she’s a virginal 3rd grade teacher. She cries herself to sleep at night and doesn’t know why until she dreams. Then she forgets again in the morning.” 

“You keep calling him Gideon, is that his full name?”

Kira shook her head. “No. He doean’t remember his real name; all people call him is Pinhead, which doesn’t make much sense. They look more like nails to me, but no one asked me. He called himself the Angel of Suffering.”

“Hmmm…I want you to do something for me. Tonight, talk to Pinhead and tell him about me. Ask him what he thinks. I would like to hear about it.” Dr. Channard seemed so eager…like a happy puppy.

Kira raised her eyebrows at the man. “Okay. But prepare yourself for no comment. He doesn’t exactly talk much.” She thought about correcting Channard about Gideon’s name, but an intense feeling of jealousy flooded her at the idea of anyone other than herself calling him that, and left it alone.

[break]

“…I have no idea what he does that he thinks will impress you. He’s also the first psychologist that actually believes in you though, so I have to like him for that. Oh, and did I tell you? We had a break in yesterday.” Gideon’s eyes flicked to her, roaming over her figure in such a way that she rolled her eyes. “I’m fine, you worrywart. I was in school at the time. And nothing was taken either…all they wanted was in the garage, but didn’t take anything. It was weird. Anywho...I have been thinking…” she blushed pink, Gideon raising his eyebrows at the interesting reaction to whatever his little innocent mortal was thinking. “My birthday is next week. I was hoping that we might do something special…if that would be okay with you?” Gideon nodded solemnly. “I have an idea that’ll pretty much take up the night…but if you don’t want to, that’s fine!” She protested.

Gideon, who as always was walking beside her sedately, stopped and turned toward her. “Whatever you would like will be yours.” Such promise in that vow, and he meant every word. If he had his way, and he usually did eventually, then one day his Kira would never leave the Labyrinth or his side.

“I also have another question.” Her tone changed, becoming much more serious than her previous chatty conversational air. He turned to her, giving her his full attention, not that he ever did anything else, but actions did much more than words. She had heard many words in her lifetime…she noticed his body language and gave more credence to it than what he said. Eventually, her trust in him would be all-consuming and she would never question anything he said or did. He had eternity to wait for such a time. Then, he would begin to introduce her to his world, show her things that she would never have dreamed or imagined. Just the thought alone was arousing. 

“If I called out your name in the waking world…the world that isn’t here…would you hear me? Would you come?” The seriousness had given way to nerves and hesitancy. She may be content alone, but it was a contentment that came from knowing nothing else. Now that she had someone, in particular himself, she was afraid he would leave her. Hmmm…he would definitely have to work on her fears. This one was more difficult to address.

“The laws that govern the Labyrinth and I are absolute.” Kira nodded, she knew this. “What you ask would violate those laws.” Her face closed off, falling quiet, but he continued, breathing in her despair deeply. “However, if you see any Cenobite, then you may call and I will come. No Cenobite may enter the mortal world without a doorway first being opened and we must leave as the door closes.” 

Her eyes became thoughtful as she pondered the implications of his words. “What door?”

“The cube, or box. It is called the Lament Configuration and creates a doorway to the Labyrinth when the puzzle is solved.”

Kira blinked at him, astonishment easy to read. “I come here almost every night.” He didn’t reply, simply waited for her to state what she found so surprising. “I’ve never solved it. I didn’t even know it was a puzzle. I can’t touch it.” He stared at her and he was so still that if she didn’t know any better she would think he was dead. His chest didn’t even rise with breath. “Gideon?” It was like he was lost in his own world, a distant look in his eyes as he seemed to see through her. She had never seen him like this before. She began to get worried when he didn’t acknowledge it. “Gideon?”

She could feel when his eyes were back onto her, and could also sense that something significant had changed. Exactly what that was, she didn’t know. But before she could ask, she heard her alarm go off and the Labyrinth faded around her.

[break]

She had found the only unique Configuration. All of eternity had given him a great deal of patience, but he had thought that this day would never come. 

It didn’t change many of his plans, only one, but it did cement even greater in his mind one thing.

Kira was his.

[break]

“It’s just…he’s starting to make me nervous.” Kira said to Gideon as they both watched the skyline of the Labyrinth. She didn’t take her eyes off of the Leviathan slowly turning above. She was still amazed that the actual Lord of Hell was a huge replica of the Lament Configuration itself. Gideon insisted that Leviathan was sleeping and had been for a very long time. “Dr. Channard…all he ever talks about is you, the other Cenobites, and the Labyrinth. I’m starting to think he’s wants to get here even more than I do.” 

She looked over at Gideon in a quick glance and saw that he hadn’t taken his own eyes off of her. She mentally smiled at the gesture she had seen so many times in school of other couples. It was a confirmation to her that Gideon really was interested in her, for her, and not because he had to as the Favored Son of the Labyrinth. “And I don’t have you up there to protect me…and I don’t know how to protect myself.” She took a deep breath in a poorly disguised sigh. 

Kira turned to her boyfriend—though they had never, ever, said the words to make them such, it was the closest word she knew of that would even slightly describe their relationship—and knew that her eyes were asking. Her mother had always said that guys dealt well with problems and that if they saw or heard of a problem, they would try to fix it…well, Kira had a problem and she needed help. 

Gideon’s pure black eyes watched her face as she spoke to him, reading more in her body language than she could possibly know. This was also the first time that she was asking him to help her, and not just her helping him in the Labyrinth. It was definitely a step forward. “Perhaps it is time to begin your training.” Of course, even if she knew how to manipulate the Labyrinth it would not help her in the mortal realm…but this was a wonderful opportunity and he would not let it pass. Her eyes were asking him to elaborate. He obliged. “To learn the magic of the Labyrinth.”

“But…I’m not a Cenobite.”

“All residents of the Labyrinth have the ability to manipulate the environment around them. It is only themselves that prevent their own leaving.” He could see that she didn’t understand. He held out a black-leather gloved hand and a red rose with a black stem appeared between one eye blink and another. “Magic here is about three things: image, belief, and desire.”

“I understand the first two, but desire?” Kira said absently as she took the rose from his hand, turning it this way and that, peering at it closely. She then sniffed gently and smiled. “It’s beautiful.” A split second later, a thorn scraped her skin and blood welled to the surface. She sucked in a small breath, more in surprise than anything else. She watched as Gideon took her injured hand in one of his, raked over the blood with the pointer finger of his other hand and sucked it in his mouth to drink the little blood he could. She knew that he wanted to drink her blood from the source, but he couldn’t touch her at all, so this was as close as he could get. 

She gave him a small smile, not judging him at all for his desire. It took another second to realize that her finger didn’t hurt anymore. Blue eyes peered at her finger and saw that the tiny puncture was healed as if it had never been. Kira thought hard and tried to understand. Gideon had a habit of showing her things, rather than explaining. He was a man of very few words. He made a rose, it suddenly grew a thorn to hurt her so that he could drink her blood…something he really wanted to do…but he didn’t want to truly hurt her, and her wound healed…

He watched as she tried to put the pieces together. Of all the things she was, one of the few things she never actually tried to do was hide her facial expressions. “Fear suppresses the ability to perform magic.” He saw the second that she understood and gave a minute smile. Kira was a truly unique mortal, and while he had a multitude of time and patience, he anxiously waited for the time when she would give him the opening into her life. When his skin could touch hers. Then he could begin her real training. 

Gideon, as he thought of himself if only around her, gave her a bigger smile when between one eternity and another, she was holding another rose identical to his own in her other hand. She gave him a huge smile of triumph and began an ecstatic little dance. “Good.”

Kira laughed at the praise in intense happiness. She closed her eyes to once again try magic. She pictured her favorite outfit—blue jeans and a purple t-shirt—and concentrated on her intense desire to be wearing those things. Belief wasn’t a problem. Opening her eyes, she danced again at her non-pajama clothes. She impulsively threw her arms around Gideon and hugged him enthusiastically. She felt his arms come around her and squeeze gently. He was always so careful with her, as if she would disappear with any little gesture. 

She pulled back hesitantly and reluctantly. “Will this work in the above world?” His silence gave her all the answer she needed. She sighed again, like a switch had been thrown she was slightly sad again. “I love it here. I do…and I will practice magic down here until I can do it as well as you. I really appreciate you showing me how…but what do I do about Dr. Channard, Gideon?” 

He looked at her simply, that non-expression of his that told her he was thinking. “He will not harm you, Kira. If he truly wants to be here, he will acquire a Configuration and open the doorway.” This Channard was not a stupid mortal and would know that if he harmed Kira, then Gideon would make the mortal doctor’s eternity here as creative as possible.

She wanted to ask how he knew, but didn’t. Now, it was time for another question. She looked up at the sky, and the Leviathan, once more as she tried to gather her courage to ask what she really wanted to know. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth, talking quickly so that she wouldn’t lose her nerve. “I overheard some cheerleaders talking about it last week and I want to know what it is…but when I asked them they laughed at me. Mother said I would find out when I was married. You always give me the truth and you always answer me…” She didn’t get a verbal answer, but didn’t really expect one. Gideon really wasn’t much for talking. He was definitely the show-you type. She took another big breath and asked in a rush.

“What’s an orgasm?”

[break]

At last! Here was his opening and he definitely was going to take advantage.

Kira was so nervous, waiting for an answer…or even an acknowledgement that she had spoken. Seconds passed before she felt Gideon’s arms wrap around her before she was suddenly up in his arms, bridal style. It was natural to wrap her hands around his neck, grateful that his trench-dress came up to the base of his skull. There was no way she could touch his skin in this position. 

Complete darkness, as if she was suddenly blind, enveloped the both of them for a single moment of eternity. Kira saw the corridor and recognized the door they were heading for, the same door that held the blood-red room that she had first seen after the Cenobite dog’s attack. It had been a while, but it was still just the same as before.

Gideon gently laid her down on the blood-red silk sheets on the bed and stepped back. “What you ask cannot be accurately explained. True understanding will only come with experience. Unable to touch your skin directly will limit my ability to give you this understanding, but not impossible. It will only take more time.” This was one of the longest speeches she had heard from him since he had explained the definition of Cenobite. “Know that once done it cannot be undone. This will change you, Kira. You will not be the same.” The look he was giving her made her shiver slightly; she could tell that he was serious. “Do you still desire this?”

Kira didn’t look away from him. He was standing at the foot of the bed, looking at her just as intently. The real question seemed to be: did she want to stay as she was now, or change? “How will it change me?” There were all sorts of changes, good and bad.

“Each individual is unique, but there are constants. You will desire more, at any time of day or night.”

She frowned at that. It didn’t sound like a good thing. “If I will want it so much, then does that mean it’s like an addiction?”

Gideon seemed to pause and consider. “The parallel is not inappropriate, though imprecise. You will be able to do without, but you will want more at many times throughout your life.”

“If it’s so bad, then why do so many of the kids at school talk about them?” She was confused.

He gave a small imperceptible smile. “They are not bad in the way you are thinking. It is difficult to explain. Many perceive them as a rite of passage, a symbol of a child becoming an adult. Others think that they should only be experienced in the marriage bed; your mother seems to be one of these.”

Kira knew that Gideon would never lie to her. So the reason she couldn’t understand him was because she had never experienced this orgasm, whatever it was. On the other hand, if it was a rite of passage to adulthood she should experience one since she would be eighteen in two days. Marriage though…she didn’t even know a guy—other than Gideon himself—that she could talk for longer than thirty minutes, let alone spend the rest of her life with them. “How are they bad?”

Gideon made no move to sit—he never did really—as he again answered her in that serious tone. “They inspire countless mortals to do things that are immoral and dishonorable because they desire as many orgasms as possible. They act itself is not immoral or dishonorable.”

She frowned as she contemplated this new set of information. So a lot of the people that she had helped punish in the Labyrinth had done the things they did because they wanted more orgasms? Huh. How weird. They must be really, really nice to inspire murderers and rapists. 

So now it became a question about herself. Was she capable of killing someone? Rape someone? Kira thought hard and could only come up with one scenario where she would be willing to kill anyone and it didn’t have anything to do with orgasms…she didn’t think. 

She looked into Gideon’s eyes, but couldn’t see any emotion there. He was not giving her any clues as to this being a good request or a bad one. How bad was her own curiosity? Could she stand purposefully not knowing? Kira gave a deep sigh, knowing her own nature well enough to be able to answer it truthfully. Only one week of ignorance had been driving her crazy enough to ask Gideon. She wouldn’t be able to last the rest of her life.

Clear blue eyes met pure black with shaky conviction but with gentle steel. “I still want to know.”

“Very well.”

[break]

Gideon came around to her side of the bed and sat down on the edge but not touching her anywhere. “You trust me.”

It wasn’t a question, but it gave her pause. Truthfully, she had only known Gideon for a few months. There was the two times when she was sixteen, and then that long time without and now it had been, what? Five months? Six? But he was her confidant, her sort-of-boyfriend, she wanted to spend all her time with him. She shared everything with him. And he had saved her… “With my life.”

“Remove your clothes.”

Kira’s eyes practically popped out of her head in surprise. She hunted in his face and eyes for a hint that he was joking, but found none. A deep breath for courage and she leaned forward. She grabbed her t-shirt by the shoulder with the opposite hand and pulled. Off came the purple. Blue eyes questioned black again. No move or response. She gulped with a small feeling of apprehension. She leaned back again and hitched up her hips and unbuttoned her jeans, pulling down the zipper and then with one smooth move hooked her thumbs in the jeans at the hip and shoved. The jeans got caught on her ankles, but a wiggle of her feet cured that. When she magiced on the clothes, she hadn’t thought of underwear…Kira blushed deeply and tucked her hands in her lap, her eyes cast down in embarrassment.

A black gloved finger gently tilted up her chin to look into his eyes. “You have nothing to be ashamed of, Kira. Your inner beauty is matched by your physical appearance. You do not have to hide.” His hand went down to move her hands. “You also need to think of a word.”

Well, that was distracting. “A word? What do you mean?”

“This is a learning experience for you. You will not understand the things you will feel. You will want to hide, just as you are now, or stop completely. I will allow you to do neither unless you say a special word. Mortals say words they do not mean as a mechanism to experience more, words that are common to them. “Stop” and “Don’t” are very common. I want you to pick a word that you do not associate with cessation. Something you do not say normally. Then, when we begin and you truly want to stop, you will say this word and I will abide. Any other word will not result in staying my hand.”

This was getting very serious and very real. She swallowed again, but took him at his word that he would stop when she said. Kira thought hard for half a minute. “How about ‘apples’?”

Gideon nodded in acceptance. “Very well.” A shift of his eyes to the foot of the bed where her discarded clothes lay and they vanished. The next glance was to her hands and suddenly two chains came out from two posters next to the wall by her head and nabbed her wrists and pulled tight. Her arms became stretched out up and out, she cry that of surprise. Her eyes wide as she looked at him with the beginnings of fear. “You will want to hide yourself, as I said before. The restraints will prevent this.” The fear diminished and she nodded, taking a deep breath to steady herself. “I am going to touch you now, Kira. Remember your word.”

His gloved hands reached out and began to gently touch her. He started at her wrists and pulled down to her armpits. As soon as his fingers touched her there she laughed, her body turning to get away from the tickling. The shackles prevented her from going far since they had almost no give. The padding on the inside of the cuff helped make sure she didn’t hurt herself pulling though. He did the motion again, and again she laughed and pulled away. Over and over again he tickled her until she stopped moving away and only barely giggled at the touch.

Her eyes were dancing with amusement. “Is there a reason you keep tickling me?”

“You must get accustomed to the feeling of another caressing your body.” As she frowned slightly at this statement, his hands traveled over and cupped her breasts. One hand per boob. Her body and mind froze, unsure of how to handle this. She remembered when he had done this before, how it had felt then and now were completely different. This was so much more real. 

Gideon gave each breast a small squeeze and kept going down her body, hands traveling to her stomach and hips. Thumbs moved into the hollow between her hips and legs and she jerked again, laughing out loud. His hands stopped, before returning to her wrists and repeating the long, smooth motion to the hollow between hip and thigh. Again and again. She smiled at him, and then glanced at her wrists. Her shoulders were starting to ache from the strain of this unusual position. It didn’t hurt though; she could ignore it for the moment. She said nothing.

His left hand, the one closest to her body, came up to cup her right breast and began to squeeze and release and squeeze and release. It felt…odd…to her. She frowned up at him. “What are you doing?”

“Touching you, Kira. I am massaging your breasts. I will touch much more before we are done tonight.” His hand didn’t stop the motion as he spoke. His other hand was resting against her upper left thigh. 

“This seems to be a lot of work.”

He actually smiled! A twist of his lips much bigger than she had ever seen before. “Yes. It will be worth it, my Kira.” And he called her his! He had never done that before either. Lots of new things. She liked it. 

The hand on her thigh moved and was placed on her intimate place. Blue eyes jumped to black, her heart speeding up. But it didn’t move from there, and it didn’t do anything but sit there, so her heart slowed down again. His other hand left her right breast and started on her left. 

Long minutes of this. She slowly relaxed into his touch. At some point, she closed her eyes to just feel, relaxing almost completely.

Kira wasn’t sure when it happened. But suddenly she felt the leather gloved hand on her nether area cup upward. Her eyes snapped open and her legs clamped closed, tension all throughout her body. “What are you doing?!”

He raised one eyebrow. “As you asked.” Her trying to keep him from touching her from sheer physical force was a joke. He simply pushed her right leg away from her left effortlessly. “Remember your word if you wish to stop.” Well, he hadn’t hurt her…she was just surprised. She shook her head after a moment. “Bend your knee.” Kira swallowed and did ask he asked. He propped her leg up and out. He now had unrestricted access to her nether region, her intimate place. “Relax.”

“Not sure that’s possible, Gideon.” 

He gave her a small knowing smile. She watched, body very tense, as he continued to massage her breasts with one hand and the other hand again cupped her between her legs. That hand too began to squeeze and release, in counterpoint to his other hand. 

The hand on her breast suddenly moved to her nipple and pinched. She jerked. The motion of her body made his other hand go a little deeper between her legs, which made her jerk again. “Gideon…”

“Shhhh…relax, my Kira. Feel. The answer to your question takes time for you to understand. Relax.” His voice was low and soothing, calming. But she was still tense. His fingers rolled her nipple between fingers and then pinched before massaging her whole breast. Then moved to the other breast to repeat. She stopped jerking with surprise, but a different sort of tension began low in her stomach. It was a new feeling that felt very odd. She was also starting to feel hot, breathing deeper to get more air.

His fingers curled and began to once again massage her mons. All at once, his first two fingers slipped into her intimate place. Kira’s whole body bucked, whether in surprise or this new odd feeling that increased, she couldn’t say. Gideon’s small smile was back. “You are very wet.” Blue eyes stared into black in confusion. “It means that your body likes what is happening, even if your mind does not know or understand.” Those fingers kept massaging gently, now on the inside of her nether lips. 

That feeling was increasing, and her breaths were deep. The air seemed stifling and hot. Her nipples were pinched, massaged, and rolled over and over in conjunction with those fingers in her mons. Suddenly, those fingers between her legs brushed something that made her body buck upward, into the touch. “More…” she didn’t understand, had no idea what he did, but she wanted it again. 

Gideon nodded in acceptance and obliged her. Kira cried out softly, her legs widened of their own volition, giving him more ready access to her. “Gideon…please…”

Even though she didn’t know what she asked, he did. Eternity had its perks. A quick flick of his thumb had her cry out again. He began to move his thumb without pause and the sound she made had him hard for the first time that night. A low keen that he had produced that was the sound of want, a deep desire for more. For him. But he knew that tonight he would not get relief in the form of sex; he still could not touch Kira’s skin.

Kira’s groin was feeling really weird. It was so tight and tingly. It didn’t hurt, it was just odd. But that thing that Gideon was doing with his hand made the tension in her groin grow even tighter. She cried out softly, keening in need. Pleasure swept through her in hot waves. Taking quick breaths, almost hyperventilating.

All of a sudden, the tension could get no bigger and broke over her, sweeping down her body in wave of hot pleasure. “Gideon!” She felt something push into her, felt a burning in her groin that drove the wave even higher. Her body relaxed immediately after the wave passed, languid on the bed and she took breaths. Sleepy blue eyes met amused black.

“That, my Kira, was an orgasm.”

[break]

 

“What a pitiful example of unimaginative monkeys is your hell.”

A scream rips the air followed in close succession by more screams fading into the distance.

“What use is fire and brimstone? A fire too hot burns the nerves beyond sensation.”

Another scream begins, but changes pitch, tone, urgency, until it resembles more a sigh than a moan.

“What is pain, without pleasure? As soon say you would torture someone with darkness without ever showing them the light.”

The sigh has changed, building in strength and frequency until it resembles the breathless panting of a long distance runner.

“You might as well try to make one sided coins or magnetic monopoles.”

The panting has changed now to the unmistakable timber of approaching orgasm.

“And your petty little definitions of pain and pleasure, in all the time I have watched you, that amuses me the most. Your clear separation of the two clearly indicates how little you know of either.”

The point of no return is almost here for the unseen participant in this discussion. Almost… almost… a…l…m…o…s…t…THERE!!!!!

A roaring sound, as though a lion just mated, fills the stillness… followed quickly by the unmistakable crack of a bone breaking, yet the roar changes little, if any at all.

“If I had told you I could rip your right big toe from your body and you would barely notice, you would have never believed me. Yet here it is.”

A warm mass of flesh with a bone protruding is wiped gently, seemingly lovingly, across the lips of the breather, the full knowledge of what is against his lips slowly seeping into his conscience as his endorphins burn from his system. Suddenly he screams, mindlessly, in sheer terror.

“Ah, there it is, the sweet sound of human torment. You lie to yourselves. You lie to each other. You even lie when you talk in your sleep. But when pushed to the brink of the abyss and you discover The Abyss is looking back, when you discover for the first time The Abyss is hungry… for you.”

The screams continue until the vocal cords snap with the strain.

The cenobite smiles. Not all humans are capable of snapping their vocal cords with their screams. It is always a pleasant surprise to see it occur.

In a final act of defiance, the victim croaks, “Fuck you, you pinhead monster.”

A chain no larger around than a baby’s finger, tipped with a hook which would not be out of place on a sport fishing boat, arrows out of the darkness with uncanny accuracy, hooking the chin and pulling the mouth open against the leather strap across the victim’s forehead; followed quickly by an almost dainty chain fitted with small hook dropping into the newly opened mouth to hook the tongue, drawing it out further than normal humans would believe possible.

New screams; now hoarse and cracking and all the more terrifying for it, rend the air. Screams, if you can call them that, one would expect when viewing a Bosch painting.

The Master of this particular corner of ‘hell’ leaned forward to whisper in the young man’s ear as he pushed a 12 inch pin through his tongue, from side to side, to ensure he would not pull it back into his mouth.

“I know you will never tell, so I will let you and you alone know this.” Dropping his voice to an almost inaudible whisper so quiet someone standing beside him would have heard nothing, he breathed against the victims ear, “I prefer to be called Gideon.”

 

[break]

His Kira was fast asleep and he watched as her body slowly faded away back into the mortal world in which she lived half of her life. Interesting…if she slept then she slowly entered the other world, instead of an instant transition. 

Suddenly, Gideon felt the Labyrinth shudder and shake in his heart. Between one eternity and the next, he traveled to the room that was shaking so much and saw something that made his whole being tighten in anger and rage. A Resident of the Labyrinth had escaped.

[break]

The first thing she noticed when she woke was that her shoulders were a mass of sore. “Owww…” While the second thing dealt with her clothes: she wasn’t wearing any. Hmmm…if things in the Labyrinth effected reality—she knew that—and things taken from her effected reality....What if reality could affect the Labyrinth? She’d have to try that tonight.

Another new thing she learned that night: going to sleep in the Labyrinth she woke up in her own bedroom. Kira was insanely happy, a stupid grin on her face as she stepped into the shower. Her shoulders were sore from the chains pulling on her wrists for so long. Ironically, at the time it really wasn’t at the forefront of her mind. It was the afterward that hurt. Hmmm…wonder if orgasms helped with pain? A frown crossed her face as she glanced down and saw pink water going down the drain. 

Her hands roamed her body, hunting for the hurt spot. When she found it, her frown deepened. It wasn’t her time of the month…why was she bleeding? Her breath hissed out as her fingers brushed against something that hurt intensely for as long as she touched the wound. What had he done? Admittedly her shoulders hurt much more than her groin, but now that she was aware of it, it did hurt a little. More of a low ache. Still…what had Gideon done?

[break]

Kira was whistling to herself as she made breakfast—oatmeal and scrambled eggs.

Her mother smiled. “Good dream?”

“The best! Gideon answered my question. He was right…I do feel different.” Kira grinned as she handed her mother the plate loaded with food. 

Her mother frowned. “What question, Kira?”

“What an orgasm was.” Kira heard a snort behind her but ignored it, she felt way too good this morning to worry about what she had forgotten to buy, cook, or clean this time. “Of course, Gideon is more of a show-me type of guy so he didn’t really explain. But it was really, really nice.”

“And you…you dreamed this?” Her mother’s voice was definitely a higher pitch than normal. Kira gave her mother an are-you-deaf? look. “I…I see…ummm…well, Kira you do have an appointment with Dr. Channard today, so we’ll just see what he has to say about this…”

[break]

Dr. Channard actually looked like he wanted to laugh. “Your mother thinks that you were raped, your mind is repressing the experience, and it is coming through in your dreams.” Kira’s eyes popped open in shock. “Oh yes. If you were anyone else, I would be asking you to submit to hypnotism to make sure that wasn’t the case. Since you are you…how about you tell me what happened last night with Pinhead?” Channard never called Gideon by anything else.

Kira blushed crimson and stared at her lap, her hands nervously twisting there. “We uh…ummm…uh…”

Dr. Channard laughed softly. “Kira, I am forty-three years old and a psychiatrist at the most prestigious clinic in the state. Nothing you say will surprise me.” He gave her a charming smile that made her skin crawl.

“I asked Gideon what an orgasm was.” Kira mumbled only loud enough for the doctor to hear, and even then it was quiet enough he had to lean in to understand. 

“Ah.” Dr. Channard nodded his understanding. “Did Pinhead penetrate you?” He could see that the teen didn’t comprehend the question. “Do you still have your hymen?” A frown of confusion was still present on Kira’s face. Dr. Channard placed his hand to his mouth and looked at her as he thought to himself of the issue this presented. “Do you read romance novels?”

Her face cleared. Kira shook her head. “No. I’m a bookworm, sure. But I stick mostly to sci-fi and fantasy.”

Channard nodded and got to his feet. He traveled to a bookshelf by his desk and ran fingers over the spines there, searching for the one he wanted. “Ah. Here we are.” He hooked his forefinger at the top of the book’s spine and pulled. Catching the book by the binding, he came back to Kira and handed it to her.

Ever the curious girl, she read aloud the title, “Fifty Shades of Grey. What’s this?” Blue eyes looked up at him inquisitively.

He gave a soft chuckle. “Think of it as homework. Pinhead might also appreciate any questions you find while reading that book. Give it a try, Kira. We will talk again in a couple of days, after your birthday.”

Kira nodded absently, wondering about this new book with the odd title.

[break]

It was Sunday, so as soon as Kira got home—and finished her chores—she settled on her bed, cradled by her mounds of pillows and began to read her “homework”. 

The book started out very…boring if Kira was honest with herself. But it was something that Channard would definitely be asking her about it later, so she kept reading. Not to mention, if Channard was right and Gideon would appreciate anything she could learn in this book…then a little bit boredom was worth it.

As she kept reading, Kira began to notice parallels in the narrator, Ana, and herself. Well, some parallels anyway. Kira was a wallflower, had never had a relationship before, and was—relatively—shy around new people. Or she was before she met Gideon. These days, the bullies she ran into at school were more of a nuisance than intimidating. She didn’t go out of her way to be a wallflower anymore; it was more by design and habit. And relationship-wise? Gideon was more than she could ever hope for in a boyfriend, so boys her own age were superfluous. 

Then came the big reveal of the main male character’s big secret and Kira almost fell out of her bed in shock and surprise. “Good grief…is this real?” she whispered to herself.

Before she could keep reading, a timer went off telling her it was time to start dinner. Kira half-growled at the annoying thing, but obediently got to her feet.

[break]

“So, Kira.” Blue eyes looked up from her plate to her mother. “What did Dr. Channard say?”

“Normal dream stuff and gave me a book to read.” She answered, almost noncommittal. Kira would have grunted her reply if she thought she could have gotten away with it. “I’m about a third of the way through so far, I’ll finish it tonight after dinner.”

Her mother nodded, satisfied. 

[break]

Kira settled down back on her bed to continue reading. Eyes that were anxious to find out exactly what all of this interesting new lifestyle entailed, avidly read the Rules, Hard Limits, and the contract. This new world of bondage-submission was so similar in some ways to the Labyrinth that she had to wonder if those that started BDSM had somehow visited the world of the Leviathan. Or, if BDSM was as old as she was thinking, perhaps the Labyrinth had been something else long ago and had changed with the times, so to speak. Or maybe it had been created like it was after BDSM came into being. So many thoughts whirled around her mind as she read.

Kira gasped when it was revealed that Ana was a virgin too. At twenty-one! Kira never thought that someone could be a virgin for so long. Admittedly, she was still innocent herself, but she had always assumed that she would lose hers when she went to college next year. Then she kept reading and the first sex scene in the novel came up and Kira found herself reacting oddly. She didn’t really notice at first, but her breath started to come faster and she felt very hot. Almost like she was with Ana and Christian in that bedroom. How odd…was this what arousal felt like? Or Ana had called it desire...?

Wait…losing your virginity was painful—she knew that—but Kira hadn’t known that it would cause blood. Was that what happened last night? Did Gideon take her virginity? But he couldn’t do it like they did in the book, Gideon can’t touch her. So, how? 

Kira kept reading into the night before finally putting the book down around midnight. She was almost finished, and if it was a year ago she would have finished it anyway, but nowadays, she wanted to talk to Gideon. Which meant sleeping. 

She kept her hand on the cover of the novel as she snuggled down into her bed. If her theory from this morning was correct, then she might be able to take something into the Labyrinth with her. Maybe.

[break]

Kira blinked at the rising sun. “Damnit all to…well, no…I like it there.” She hadn’t slept all night. “Well, I can finish the book this way I suppose.” She gave a great sigh and got to her feet to get ready for the day.

 

Kira dragged through Monday with chores and school. In between everything, she finished the book that Dr. Channard gave her. When she finally got to the last page she had the profound urge to throw it across the room in frustration. What a horrible ending!

If that was all of it, the entirety of the novel, then she wanted to shoot someone. Not dead though…a kneecap would be plenty. Just enough to express her intense ire. Gideon would approve. Or think that she was being too subtle. Really, the man had absolutely no tact at all…then again, he didn’t really need it. Eternity definitely had its pros and cons. Patience of a saint, but no diplomacy whatsoever. 

For the rest of the day all Kira could really think about was that book. Was it real? Some of it sounded really interesting…

[break]

Though Gideon was only superseded by Leviathan in the Labyrinth, he had no power in the mortal world. The Rules were strict and it was part of his job as Favored Son to ensure they were followed to the letter. One of those Rules, no Cenobite could enter the mortal realm without a doorway. So until the missing Resident made a mistake, the human was relatively safe. However, all humans were renowned for making mistakes. It shouldn’t be long, even with eternity on Gideon’s side.

Until then, as Favored Son and Keeper of the Labyrinth, he had work to do. Favored Son was the title associated with keeping and governing the Cenobites themselves, making sure they followed the Rules and did their job. The title Keeper was given to the being who governed and oversaw the Labyrinth; including setting up new rooms for Residents, maintaining those rooms, and making certain that all Residents stayed in their rooms.

It was only his status as Favored Son, and the fact that Leviathan was still sleeping that kept Gideon from severe punishment for violating the last requirement of Keeper.

Interestingly enough, Gideon had been grooming his Kira to take over as Keeper. She was quite good at it already, even as a human. He anticipated how much better she would be as Keeper when she became a Cenobite. 

But before she could become a Cenobite and be able to stand by his side, many things would have to occur. The least of which: he needs to be able to touch her. Without that first real step, he could do practically nothing with her, or more significantly, to her. 

Gideon was walking the corridors, making sure that all was running smoothly with the rest of the Residents, when he looked behind him with a barely perceptible smile. He had become to measure eternity by Kira’s visits. Now, this eternity was over and the next could begin. His Kira had returned.

[break]

Kira had been looking up at the Leviathan for barely five seconds when she felt the distinctive presence of Gideon. She turned around and smiled hugely at him, her heart warming as discerning blue eyes were able to see his answering smile already in place, welcoming her back to the Labyrinth…and him.

She excitedly went to her tip-toes several times, up and down, as she spoke. “Look at my clothes!” She had successfully changed her pajamas into her favorite outfit yet again, this time with a tattered butterfly design not found in the mortal realm; at least not that she had ever seen. “And here!” she triumphantly held up a book. “I figured if things here could change things there, then I could bring things here that I had there. And it worked!” She waved the book again, grinning from ear to ear. 

He nodded slightly, limited as always by his outfit. “Such is possible with a doorway.” He reached out and took the book that she had obviously spent much time and effort to get it to the Labyrinth. It mattered to her. It had been many eternities since he had been required to read anything, but the skill had not vanished. He flipped carefully through the novel before looking up at her with a raised eyebrow. “Interesting beginning.” Oh yes. It was a gentle start into her education, but quite adequate. 

Her head tilted as she stopped bouncing. “Really? I thought it was boring.” She took the book back and flipped through pages until she found what she was looking for. “This is where it gets interesting.” She hands it to him, which he obediently accepts.

The scene was very tame. An extremely gentle introduction. “You have questions.” Of course she would, up until the last eternity his Kira was still a virgin. 

He watched impassively as she blushed softly and nodded. “Umm…don’t we need to set up some rooms first?” How…human. She was embarrassed. 

The blush deepened at his simple “No.” 

“Oh. Well…could we go back to that red room?” She was stalling. Very well. It would be nothing to humor her. It was not as if any Cenobite would care if they did anything on the landings of the Labyrinth. They might if they did things in the corridors, if only noting the inconvenience of the actions. And it was not as if the sleeping Leviathan would notice.

Still, Gideon stepped close and enveloped her, feeling as Kira wrapped her own arms around his waist. Drawing on the magic inherent in every mote of the Labyrinth, between one human breath and the next, they were in the “red room” as she called it. Apparently it had not occurred to her that the room was his own, and now hers as well.

[break]

“Why did you take my virginity?” It almost blurted out as soon as she felt the absolute cold of travel vanish and she opened her eyes to acknowledge that they were indeed in the same room as before.

Gideon simply looked at her for a moment. “The hymen is a barrier to prevent unwanted debris from entering the body. It is for children. You have no more need of it.” Wow! More than a single sentence—or worse a single syllable—for an answer! 

She frowned though. “Why didn’t you ask?” Other than the fact that Gideon was a control freak and rarely—if ever—asked questions. As expected, he just looked at her in response. “It’s just…not what I expected.”

She could see that his eyes glimmered with humor. “You had no knowledge and thus no expectations. You enjoyed the experience.” 

It was a statement, but she blushed deeply and nodded anyway. “I was a bit sore yesterday morning, but it’s pretty much gone now.”

“Such is normal for a first occurrence, Kira.” 

“I figured, if the book has any basis in reality.” She took a breath and prepared for the next set of questions. “Speaking of this book…are these things possible? Are they real?”

He did smile this time; it was small but present. “Indeed. Much is possible. More than you currently imagine. I have had an eternity as a Cenobite to perfect every experience.”

Kira thought about that little tidbit for a few seconds. She knew what a Cenobite was, but never really thought about what being such could mean. “So, does that mean that what we did last time was boring for you?”

Gideon began to laugh, deep and full of hidden things. Nearly half a minute before he answered verbally. “No, my Kira. I was far from bored.”

“Oh.” She blushed again. “Okay.” Kira cleared her throat. “Then, can we try something else? You were right, you know. I do want more.” At his raised eyebrow, she continued. “Well…” she flipped through the book, found what she wanted, and passed it to him. “…can we do this?”

Gideon obediently took the novel and read the passage quickly. Old skills did not die, and a Cenobite physiology made the task expedient. He raised black eyes to peer into anxious blue. “You know I cannot touch your skin with mine.” Those eyes fell. She did not understand all the intricacies. Humans were very limited in their imaginations. Even his own Kira at times. “What is written here is not currently possible. However, there is another way.” Hope bloomed. He gestured and her clothes once again vanished. “Remember your word, Kira…and get on the bed.”

[break]

[BEGIN SEX SCENE]

Kira shivered at the temperature, sudden exposure, and the expectation. A feeling began to curl in her stomach, a feeling she was beginning to understand was desire. She blushed softly and nodded. Without taking her eyes off of him, she sat on the edge of the bed and began to scoot toward the center and swung her legs over to lie down. 

Somehow, doing it herself was more sensual than just placing her there as Gideon did two nights past. Almost as if she was silently giving him permission, or offering herself to him on a red silk platter. The slide of silk against her naked skin left goose bumps in their path and she shivered again slightly.

“Raise your arms above your head.” Gideon said simply. 

Kira swallowed but after only a second, did as he ordered. She startled when the same chains from before shot out of the posters and wrapped around her wrists and pulled. Confused blue eyes met black. “Why the chains?” Unlike last time, she tugged at them as if to question, or show him the error.

For a moment he didn’t answer, just looked at her. He didn’t sit down, he just stared. Finally, he spoke. “I enjoy watching you this way.” He paused. “Say your word and I will stop.”

Kira thought about it. On one hand, she did want this new experience. And she definitely wanted another orgasm. On the other hand, it left her shoulders a bit sore. It was also another layer of control he had over her. Like he didn’t have enough already! But it was fair, if she thought about it. He was giving her pleasure, so she should pleasure him in some way. She couldn’t do it the way that they did in the book, because she couldn’t touch his skin. So…if this made him happy…why not just do it? Kira met his eyes again and shook her head. “No.”

He nodded as if he expected it and sat on the edge of the bed. “Until I can touch you, a surrogate is necessary.” Before she could say anything, he held up the glove-covered hand closest to her, his left, and in it lay something she had never seen. It was shaped kind of like a round cylinder, but it had ridges criss-crossing the length. At one end, the end furthest from his palm, the cylinder had a flare and came to a ball-ish end with a vertical indentation from the center of the half-ball down to the flare. It looked about an inch in diameter where Gideon held it, though the flare was definitely wider by at least a half inch. She didn’t know how long it was, she wasn’t good at guessing lengths any longer than two inches, but she thought it might be around eight or nine inches. Maybe. “I will use this.”

Kira took in the thingie and looked back at him. “Ummm…Gideon? What is it?”

She saw a hint of a smile. “It is called a dildo.” Oh. So that is what one looked like. “It is a synthetic replica of a man’s penis.” She blinked.

“You look like that?” 

Such an innocent question. He liked that she had no basis of understanding. He liked it very much. Gideon shook his head. “Similar. I will try to touch your skin again when you reach your human majority of eighteen years of age. Then, you may find out for yourself.”

Kira grinned hugely at him. “My birthday is tomorrow.” 

He raised an eyebrow at that. Not long to wait. Only one more eternity until he could touch her. “Indeed. Bend your knees and spread your legs, my Kira.” The tangent of her thoughts was brought into heel and she gulped again, but did as he asked, feeling very exposed. 

Gideon mentally smiled to himself that she did as he ordered without question. It showed so much promise for her education. But she was still very much human and very much fragile. He placed the dildo on the bed near her quim and reached up to cup her sex while his other glove-covered hand began to caress her breasts just as he had done the last eternity she had been with him.

Kira leaned back more fully into the sheets and pillow, relaxing into the sensations. Her eyes drifted down as she sank back, just enjoying the feeling of him massaging her. The hand on her breasts squeezed, rolled, tweaked, and pulled while the hand between her legs cupped, stroked, and pressed in all the right places. 

She lost herself in the experience. Which is why when the hand on her sex suddenly shifted to press into her center, she jerked and her eyes flew open in surprise. Bright black orbs backlit by a flame she didn’t yet understand were watching her intently, taking in every intake of breath, every flush of skin, every subtle moan of wanton desire. 

Fingers pressed into her farther and she couldn’t help her reaction: a moan of pleasure-pain. The fingers went deeper and her back arched into the touch. “Gideon…” she whispered in a breathy askance for more. Her legs naturally fell open wider, her knees leaning away to give him more access. 

He seemed to be waiting just for that movement, or for her voice. His fingers withdrew, making her mewl in desperation for him to return, but when he returned it was very different. His Cenobite strength helped speed the process; the reaction set his blood afire. With one smooth stroke, he had taken the dildo still waiting patiently on the bed, and shoved it into her. Kira’s back arched again even more than the first time since her legs pushed down at the same time as she instinctively tried to escape the intrusion. What made his blood flare with desire was her beautiful scream of pain-pleasure…mostly pain. Yet, he knew the consequences if he hurt her too much. He had made sure of the depth of that stroke, the strength behind it and the speed. One hair more would have been too much and she would have stopped him, he knew.

Instead, Gideon stopped at that one stroke and watched her. Her breaths came quickly and deep as she fought with her body. Her hands were grabbing the chains as something to hold onto, her feet digging into the bed for leverage as she tilted her hips to get away. Tears were in her eyes, but did not fall. When she finally caught her breath, she looked at him with a small amount of betrayal and her voice was slightly thready as she asked, “Why…?”

“It is the most efficient way for your body to become accustomed.” Was the simple reply. 

She sniffed, swallowed down her tears. “Warn me next time.”

He gave a small shake of his head. “You would have tensed, making the pain increase.”

Kira gave him a disbelieving glare. He wasn’t going to argue with her though. He simply waited yet again and fantasized about the next eternity when he would be able to touch her skin. Be able to fuck her appropriately. The things he could begin to show her…

His right hand did not pause however and continued to play with her breasts. After a moment, his left shifted around and flicked her clitoris, making her twitch. He smirked to himself and did it again. It did not take long and she was moving her hips again. He began to push and pull the dildo in and out of her, starting with a slow speed and incrementally faster until she was at the same amount of need she had been before the scream. Tomorrow was her birthday…now was the time to lay the seed…

Gideon was very good at his job, having so much time to perfect everything. He skillfully fucked his Kira, his human soul-mate, and played her body like a conductor directed an orchestra. For the first time, he heard her beautiful voice begin to beg him for more…hear that voice fall back to instinctual sounds of need. Countless years of practice let him know exactly when it was time to speed up or slow down to drive her even higher, and knew when she was at the brink of ecstasy. 

He leaned in close to her ear and whispered to her a sentence that would lay deep in her mind. Lay a seed of thought she would take to heart and remember…and more importantly believe. For he was a very selfish and jealous male and would not share.

Kira’s mind was in tatters, focused solely on the pleasure Gideon was giving her, urging him to go faster, deeper, harder, more. Her mind was being driven so high into the clouds with each passing movement that when she finally screamed his name to the heavens, she almost didn’t hear his answering whisper.

“No human can make you feel like this, my Kira.”

Her last sluggish thoughts before she slipped into oblivion were wondering why she would want a human when she had him.

[END SEX SCENE]  
[break]  
Kira was smiling as she stretched out languidly in her bed and then rose to begin the day. Not only had the night been absolutely delicious, it was her birthday today. She was now eighteen years old. An adult. She could now vote, get a (paying) job, live on her own, sign up for the military…though still couldn’t drink and how weird was that logic? She could go off and kill people for her country but couldn’t imbibe alcohol.

She practically skipped to the kitchen to begin making breakfast. The one day a year she was allowed to make what she wanted…and today she wanted pancakes. A sweet treat to finish the wonderful night and a sugar rush to start the new day. She whistled merrily and she mixed the ingredients, marveling over the ache in her shoulders and nether regions—mostly that it didn’t bother her, rather it brought a smile to her face in remembrance—as she stirred the bowl with a bounce in her step.

It wasn’t long before her mother walked in with a smile and a kiss for her youngest, one hand behind her back to hide the present waiting there. “Pancakes.” Her mother smiled. “Not what I would choose, but it’s not my birthday.” 

Kira’s heart and mind froze, her cheer popped like a wayward balloon. “What would you like, Mother?” She should have known better.

“Oh no. It’s your birthday, you fix what you want.” That tone…

“What do you want, Mother?” She asked again quietly, placing the batter aside.

“Scrambled eggs, please.”

Kira really should have known better. She didn’t know why she got her hopes up…like always. She had to wonder if one day she would stop caring. Stop getting her hopes up. Just…stop. She tried so hard to be a good daughter, do what was expected of her, never complain. 

Suddenly, Kira wished she was back in Gideon’s arms; but not to have sex. She wanted comfort, she wanted to be held. She gave a sigh and poured the raw scrambled eggs into the skillet, spatula ready.

[break]

Her mother’s present was as disappointing as always: a package of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. “To help your chores go faster” said with a smile like she was supposed to enjoy the gift. She wondered if her mother truly believed that she would voluntarily stay any longer than she absolutely had to…or how the woman would react to the college applications hidden in her room. Best never to find out.

Her brother was a little better. He gave her $10 and a brief hug. This was the only day when he tried just a little to be a good big brother. He didn’t succeed a lot of years, but at least he tried.

The only acknowledgement of her getting one year older in school happened in English. The teacher let her pick the topic they would write about for their journal entry that day. Not much of a present, but hey, she would take it.

As it was Tuesday, she would head to the Channard Institute after school by bus and her mother would pick her up there later. The day seemed to squeak past in micro-intervals of classes. Her notebook-slash-journal-slash-sketchbook was filled with more ideas for the Labyrinth, while her school notebooks for actual classes weren’t as filled as they should be. She knew she should pay more attention, but really…it wasn’t like they were studying anything she didn’t know already. 

She was working on a sketch for a new suspension rig that would—hopefully—make the Resident feel like they were floating; they had recently studied sensory deprivation in Biology and she wanted to give it a shot. The last bell of the day made her start and one errant line appeared on the page that she frowned at and stuck out her tongue in pique. 

Time to face the weirdo.

[break]

Kira eyed the psychiatrist warily as he perused her sketches and notes she had made to help Gideon. There was something about this man that was really starting to make her nervous. Not frightened exactly, more like an acknowledgement of danger. She couldn’t put her finger on why or what he did that bugged her so much. It was more like his very attitude, or maybe the way he held himself, or the sheer excitement in which he read her journal. Something…somethings…were just off with the man.

She had started to keep her—very sharp—sketching pencil in her hand when she went to his sessions. He thought that it was so she could make notes quickly if she had an idea. She wondered if the idea of it being a very innocuous weapon occurred to him.

“Have you ever heard the name Captain Elliot Spencer?” Dr. Channard asked casually as he flipped through her notebook.

Kira shook her head. “No. Why?”

“Oh, no reason. Just something that kept popping up in some of my research.” Research of what would make him think she knew a name? “What about Philip Lemarchand?” She shook her head again when he glanced up to see her reaction. “Well, he made the first Lament Configuration back in the 18th century.” There was a tone to his voice, a kind of glee and satisfaction, which made her wary. He had to have a box to be this happy.

They sat in silence for several minutes before he spoke again. “I’d like you to stay the night.”

She didn’t even have to think about this one. “No.”

His eyes creased in frown as he looked up, closing the journal slowly and keeping a hand on the front cover. “I can talk to your mother.”

Kira laughed lowly and stood. She reached over with the hand not holding the pencil and took back her notebook with a careful motion. “I turned eighteen today. This is our last session, Dr. Channard. She can’t force me to be here anymore. Not legally.” She stepped to the door, looking over her shoulder at him one last time to make sure he hadn’t moved from his deskchair. “Goodbye, Dr. Channard.” And she left. 

Kira had no idea—could not have known—the effect her words would have on the psychiatrist. 

[break]

One week. One week. One week. Kira chanted to herself, escaping to her bedroom after the loud fight with her mother concerning seeing Dr. Channard again. One week and school would be out. She already had a job lined up along with a room, neither of which her mother knew anything about and it would hopefully stay that way. She had already told her future employer to only contact her through the school and the man had agreed easily, believing her a poor girl with no telephone. Misleading perhaps, but technically true.

No big ceremony for her. No relatives coming to congratulate her—not that she wanted them there anyway, but it was the principle of the thing!—nor even a cake. Her birthday all over again with no presents. 

At least she had Gideon. Kira smiled as she got ready for bed while her mind turned to her favorite topic. She wished with all her heart that she could just stay with her Gideon for the rest of eternity. Eventually, she would figure out how to do just that. For now, her nights had to be enough. 

The light went out, the covers pulled up around her chin comfortingly. She let out a simple yawn and her vision darkened, eyes closing gently. Between one moment to the next, Kira went from the blackness behind her eyes to the beautiful gray stone corridors of the Labyrinth. 

She grinned and began to look through the windows of rooms to check on the Residents. One pedophile, two thieves, an adulterer, and one corrupt cop. All had been in Residence long enough to be resigned to their own unique eternities of torture. Honestly, even with almost ten boxes in the world, they only received a couple new Residents per month or so. From what she had observed at least…Gideon had just blinked when she asked him. For all she loved the man, he had absolutely no concept of time other than ‘eternity’ that was divided into smaller ‘eternities’. 

Gideon did understand her when she said ‘year’, ‘month’, ‘day’, etc. But when she tried to transfer those words into Labyrinthian time, there was no comprehension. It was almost like time was different here. Kira didn’t understand how it was different, yet. She’d figure it out eventually.

She smiled up into his face when she felt the arms surround her. His expression was as untenable as ever, but Kira could see the soft pleasure deep in his eyes. He liked holding her. “You have reached your majority.” His regal voice was quiet, breathed into her ear, making her shiver even as she nodded.

The deep cold of transport and they were in the red room again. His voice never paused more than a second. “In the eternity before I was Favored Son and Keeper, a prophesy was made.” Her own eyebrows went up as he swept her up into his arms and then laid her on the bed. “A mortal would be found, her innocence would burn against the realm. She would be drawn to the Labyrinth, seeking it out to the detriment of the human world in which she lived.” 

Kira was naked and chained to the bed with her next breath, but she didn’t protest. Her mind was caught up with the story. “She would willingly give herself over completely, corrupting her innocence repeatedly until, upon her majority, she could be claimed by the Favored Son.” There was a look in his eyes. A deep burning flame behind the pure blackness. Something was happening here that had nothing to do with the story…something that could never be taken back.

His hands came up and a breath of magic removed his leather outfit, letting her see him. His pale blue skin was pure and unmarked except for what she already knew about: the ‘pins’ and the hooks. She drank in the sight with pleasure, his muscles easily prominent enough to distinguish. Her eyes traveled from his arms and shoulders to his midriff and stopped at his waist. He had not lied the night before, he was similar to the dildo he had used. The form itself was almost identical, but he was bigger: longer and wider. Not by much, but enough that her eyes widened and her breathing deepened.

They didn’t really need words. She knew what he was going to do and had no objections. Quite the opposite. If he didn’t get on with it she would magically shove him closer…or try anyway. “Say your word.” Was the only thing he said before he pushed her legs up and over his shoulders, skin against skin, and in one single smooth motion shoved inside her. Kira screamed, though from pleasure or pain or some amalgamation of both she didn’t know, her back bowing backward as far as the chains would allow, it was too much! He stilled long enough for her to calm slightly, relaxing, and look up at him. He was waiting, but when after a moment nothing happened, he began to move. In and out, his hands right behind her shoulders so that physics wouldn’t push her away from him. In and out. In and out. In and out. 

In and out. In and out. “Oh!” He rubbed against something that made her gasp and bear down, tightening her muscles. That made him growl above her, revealing slightly pointed pure white canines, and he sped up slightly. In and out. “Oh!” In and out. “Oh!” In and out. “OH!” She couldn’t keep silent if she wanted to. He kept rubbing against that spot, deep and up, inside her with every push and pull.

“Kira Gwen Cassidy,” she shivered as he spoke her full name for the first time, the air itself seemed to spark with something, but he never broke his rhythm. Her breathing was coming in time with his own pants, the only time she had ever seen him exert at all. “do you accept me, the one you call Gideon, with all of your being, your heart, your mind, and your soul,” he was almost growling too low to be comprehensible, but he was close enough to her ears that she could still understand. “to be bound together from now until the end of eternity,” the air was actually sparking now…but maybe it was only the pleasure behind her own eyes, “with full knowledge that nothing in this world or any other will be able to break this bond?” 

She cried out and reached out with her suddenly unchained hands to clutch him closer to her, pulling him even closer to her, meeting his every thrust. Over and over, that tightening low in her belly starting to get almost unbearable. “Do you accept?!?!” He growled again, louder and insistent, driving into her without rhythm anymore with more power.

“YES!” Kira screamed out as she came violently in his arms, biting down harshly on his shoulder in her pleasure. The clamp of his own sharp teeth in time with her own was barely felt other than driving her even higher than ever before. “YES!!!” 

She began to giggle as she floated gently down from her euphoric high. Gazing deeply into her Gideon’s eyes, she idly wondered how she could have missed those blue flecks that were embedded deep in that blackness of his gaze.

[break]

Gideon felt the mental connection with his new wife. ‘Wife’. Such a…mortal…word that only barely could contain the status he and his Kira now held with each other. The evidence easily seen by those who knew how to look: black flecks of color deep in those beautiful blue eyes. When she became a Cenobite, the process now unstoppable with the blood and semen triggering the transformation amplified by their bonding, those black flecks would turn red as her eyes were overwhelmed by the blackness, just as his would. 

But for the moment, his wife was still only slightly immortal, so she slept deeply as the magic sealed their bond into her soul. 

A smile graced his face, full and deep, as he got out of bed to tend to his duties as Favored Son. The girl who knew where the escaped Resident happened to be was calling. Perhaps he would spare the girl…he didn’t need her after all. He had all he needed already. And she was sleeping soundly.

[break]

Lightning began to flash in the Labyrinth. A shiver in the corridors of gray stone, come and gone so quickly that if you weren’t looking for it you would miss it. 

The Leviathan was beginning to waken.

****HD***  
Dr. Channard sat across the table from Kira’s mother, paperwork under her left hand, a pen in her right. “Are you sure that this is necessary?”

His voice was calm, but insistent; his eyes impatient. “Yes, Mrs. Cassidy. Kira has become disconnected from reality. Her delusions are all she lives for anymore and they are extremely violent. You have seen them, Mrs. Cassidy. How long do you think it will be before she begins to live out her fantasies?”

She sighed and nodded in resignation. 

Pen was put to paper.  
***HD***  
Kira came home, backpack lugging her drawing-covered notebooks. She raised her eyebrow at the odd white 4-door sedan in the driveway. Her mother must have another date. 

The living room was dark when she came in, flipping the lights on absentmindedly as she moved. Kira froze when she saw Dr. Channard, an evil smirk hidden from the two—very large—orderlies beside him. “Hello Kira.”

She blinked. Blinked again. “Seriously?” Channard’s smirk grew across his face. 

“Now Kira, let’s not make this difficult.”  
***HD***  
Channard nodded to the other main doctor, Dr. Green, standing with him as they both watched their newest patient, “…committed by her mother for a minimum 72 hour observation. The poor woman was understandably concerned when she saw these.” He handed one of Kira’s more imaginative notebooks to the orderly and watched the man pale. 

“I’ve spoken with Kira for some weeks and the delusions seem to be focused in her dreams.” Channard continued. “She is extremely lucid while awake until you question her about her dreams and this fantasy man,” he turned to a page where a pale man with pins all over his head was featured. “All her life has become centered on him, to the determent of everything else. I will not be surprised if she stops eating and drinking, or even tries to commit suicide, so great is her wish to join him permenantly.”

Dr. Green finally provided some input. “So, hourly bed checks. Suicide watch if necessary. I’ll alert the nurses and orderlies about the food. Longer than three days and we’ll put in a feeding tube.” He looked again at the notebook; his mind finally focused on the clinical aspect. “I would recommend Thorazine to start.”

Channard shook his head. “Her break from reality while sleeping makes that unfeasible. I am going to put her on Zyprexa. Abilify too; make sure it takes.” He closed the girl’s chart with a ‘snap!’ “I also want to see if sleep deprivation will help, as her fantasy only occurs while she dreams.”

“Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh? It’s only a 72 hour observation, Dr. Channard.”

The Chief of Psychiatry glared at the newest doctor. “Why don’t you see about taking the night shift; so you can watch over her.” Green mentally groaned at the punishment. As a day doctor, going to the night shift would be hell. As the chief walked away, Green caught the parting order. “Make sure she doesn’t sleep.”

Channard allowed the full smile to pull at his face, now that no one could see. The bitch should have just agreed. Now…he laughed softly…now, she was going to find out what happened to his uncooperative patients.  
***HD***  
Gideon noted that this eternity seemed longer than most. That is, he missed his Kira. The escaped Resident had been returned to his room; now with extra features to keep him there. Kira would make a truly wonderful Keeper. He had already begun to implement some of her more creative ideas. Using reality against the Residents was a beautifully perfect hell. 

He also idly flicked his eyes up at Leviathan. The god was rumbling more frequently since his last eternity with Kira. Gideon knew there was the possibility of Leviathan waking. He acknowledged to himself what he was willing to do if Leviathan was to touch his Kira. The Cenobites listened to his warning, but the god would not…would in fact, test his resolve. 

Perhaps, given that his Kira was taking a longer eternity…perhaps the god was already.  
***HD***  
Kira cringed at the too-white room, walls padded to prevent her hurting herself. She cringed at the bright-white lights that never shut off. She cringed at the too-loud noise that never shut up playing constantly on hidden speakers. She sat huddled in the farthest corner from the door, cringing every time it opened. 

No matter if the door opened for a new dose of drugs that clouded her mind, or orderlies force-feeding her, both were unwelcome. Channard occasionally came to gloat, but she steadfastly ignored him; never acknowledging him or speaking with him.

Kira knew some of what the human body could stand. She knew that the longest they could hope to keep her awake without killing her was seven days. However long it had been, it had to have been less than that. 

But…in the midst of her mind, she was screaming with all her worth. Reaching, reaching, reaching…

**GIDEON! GIDEON! GIDEON! GIDEON! GIDEON! GIDEON!**  
Gideon…please, please, please answer me…please, Gideon…I need you. I need you. Gideon. GIDEON! Come on, Gideon, answer me…please answer me…you are real. You ARE real. You are REAL. **I KNOW YOU’RE REAL!** You have to answer me…  
 **GIDEON!**  
Please, you have to be real…you ARE real. You ARE. Gideon, please…I need you…

*****  
Gideon looked up slightly and went between to a particular room, confirming a Resident was still in place.   
Someone had been bad…that doorway, previously used by the recently escaped Resident, was now permanently closed. He raised a bored eyebrow at the screaming adulteress and mentally added another turn of her Room as punishment for the attempted escape.

As he turned to once again walk a corridor, Gideon pondered why his Kira was taking such a long eternity to come back to him.

 

Channard threw an extremely expensive vase against the wall. Why wouldn’t it work?!?! He had done everything that damned girl had said! A sacrifice of life on the spot where that whore had died should have worked! 

“Fine! Plan B it is…” he growled to himself as he stalked from his now blood-splattered library. On his way out the door he grabbed a delicate gold-inlay box from under a glass dome. He would get to the Labyrinth if it was the last thing he did!

 

Dr. Channard had everything set up. Tiffany was solving the box in front of his very eyes! He was carefully hidden behind the wall, watching her through the two-way mirror. 

One last pull and the room began to darken. Mysterious light from behind the walls shifted and glinted. Three sections of wall moved aside with a loud grinding sound of stone: two in with Tiffany and one with him.   
His mind filled with visions of glory, Dr. Channard charged determinedly through the opening without even a glance behind.

 

“Stop!” Gideon commanded his Cenobites. His voice was as it ever was: deep and royal. The Female looked up at him in askance, but before the words could escape, she froze. Her silence alerted the others.  
Their leader’s face…never before had any seen such emotion! Such sensation! Many times they had seen such expressions on Residents, as is their duty and right as Cenobites. But never like this. Whatever their Favored Son was feeling, it eclipsed all as never before.

Gideon almost lost his mind when the doorway opened. From silence to sudden, unexpected screaming was not unusual. But the screaming was in his mind…and it was Kira. His Kira was _screaming_. Screaming his name so loudly to almost drown out everything else. Screaming his existence to the heavens…but mostly his name.

“Stop!” He demanded of his Kira.

Sudden silence. A vast ocean of relief flared through his mind from her. _“Gideon…are you really there?”_

_“Yes. A doorway has been opened and I heard your call. Where are you, my Kira?”_

_“Dr. Channard convinced my mom to commit me. He hasn’t let me sleep. I think I’m being kept on the bottom floor. Please come get me! I’m not sure how much longer I can hold out…”_ her voice was shaking as she explained. Eternity can break anyone, given the right conditions, Gideon knew and knew well. He had broken many. 

Gideon walked the few steps to the human girl-child and knelt onto one knee. He looked deep into her eyes, reading her mind with practiced ease. The girl didn’t speak, some memories locked away by her own mind. Gideon blazed through them as if they were not there. He found the layout of the building, all that the girl knew of the Channad Institute. 

He glanced at his Cenobites. “Hands do not call us.” He plucked the Lament Configuration from the girl-child’s relaxed grip. “Come.” They had work to do. With the Configuration in hand, he rose—outwardly as calm as ever—and began towards the door.   
_  
“I am coming, my Kira. You will be with me soon and I will never again let you go.”_

 

The Cenobites obeyed eagerly. The Favored Son, the one who kept the rules and laws of the Labyrinth, was willingly disobeying them. Whatever had happened, all three had a feeling they would be witness to the biggest and most profound sensations of their long eternities. It would be **wonderous!**

 

Gideon had sworn to uphold the laws that Leviathan had handed down. The price for disobeying had never before been witnessed for none had ever dared to disobey him. His power and authority were absolute, only Leviathan himself above Gideon’s. However, he did not fear the retribution of Leviathan. His Kira was worth any pain.

So he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as unimportant and moved through the human world with steady, determined steps. The map the girl-child had provided pointing the way down corridors, through doors, and around turns. 

He got down to the lowest level and began to feel a pull in his chest. A side look to his subjects. “Take the guards.” before dismissing the charging, shouting humans. Loud music and bright white light assaulted his senses as he found his Kira. 

She was dressed all in white, strapped down on a platform. A thought only allowed the bindings to drop. His Kira, tortured by inferior methods, lay quietly. He stepped to her side and gathered her gently into his arms, one behind her knees and the other around her back. “Kira. You are safe now. I will never let you go.” He whispered into her mind. He knew that she would need many reassurances as he body went through the change to Cenobite. The long eternity before she was truly one of them her human senses would rule her. Humans were very fragile. 

He would be the only one to hurt her. He looked forward to making her beg him for the sweet torture only he could give.

 

Kira was in their room, sleeping. Three new Residents had been given Rooms, including one Dr. Channard.  
Gideon stood with the rest of the Cenobites behind him, awaiting the arrival of the Leviathan. The god had contacted his Favored Son as soon as Gideon had set foot back into the Labyrinth. 

The Leviathan’s deep voice boomed out across the landscape, shaking corridors and doors with his question, **“The new Keeper?”**

Gideon answered calmly. “She sleeps.” He waited patiently for his punishment. 

**“Good. I will speed her transformation. You have your work doubled, my favorite son. A mate has not been in the Labyrinth for time untold.”** There seemed to be amusement in the god’s tone at his comments. **“Your predecessors never found their own. I expect your rule will outlast theirs by much.”**

“As you wish, Leviathan.” Gideon answered at the pause. For the first time in many long eternities, he was confused. His god was completely missing his punishment. Surely, as the highest of his order, and the first to ever go against the god directly, the punishment would be the first thing to be dealt?

Dry laughter filtered through all of their minds. **“Your education has been lacking I see.”** Gideon was shocked; at both the laughter and the comment. He had been Favored Son for a long eternity. Had learned everything there was to know, experienced every sensation. His thoughts were interrupted. **“The First Law of the Labyrinth: a mate comes before all. You have broken no law, my son. I approve of your mate, your actions to retrieve her, and look forward to watching your retribution upon her tormentors.”**

Gideon’s mind was blank for a short eternity—a wide smile drew across his face and the Cenobites around him grinned at each other in anticipation of the glorious eternity before them.

It was sure to be a bloody one filled with delicious screams.  
*****


End file.
